Summer Tomato Soup

Hello Friends!

It's a very busy time of year, the tourists are in town and for those of us who work in the tourist industry it's Go! Go! Go! until the middle of September.  It's so easy to grab a ready meal, a quick snack, or rely on sandwiches as finding time to eat a healthy, balanced diet, and cook delicious food is something that is often a bit of a struggle during the busy summer months, and if I am honest, after a long day on my feet the last thing I want to be doing is standing in the kitchen prepping supper and tomorrow's lunch box.

I had to do a bit of a fridge clearing out a day or two ago, and as ever there were plenty of things nearing or even past their best, so here's what I came up with to avoid wasting a glut of cherry and other small tomatoes.  I have to say it's quite possibly one of the best soups I have ever made.

I found about 300 gr, or about 10 oz, of very ripe tomatoes in the salad drawer in the fridge.  Far too many to eat, and far too ripe to think about keeping any longer, so here's what I did:

I placed a layer of fresh basil in the bottom of a shallow Pyrex casserole, big enough to take the tomatoes in a single layer. I drizzled them very lightly with olive oil, and seasoned with freshly ground salt and black pepper, with a teaspoon of Balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar sprinkled over. I roasted them on Gas Mark 7 for about 25 minutes until they had started to caramelise. I removed the basil and cooled the tomatoes before putting in the fridge.  Today, I tipped them into my Ninja goblet, added the juice of a freshly squeezed, large orange and blitzed to a puree.  I warmed it through in a saucepan, seasoned with a little more freshly ground black pepper {to me there are few seasonings more special than freshly ground black pepper} a sprinkling of grated Parmesan, and a sprig of fresh basil to garnish.

Can I say it was utterly, completely, and totally lip smacking? Perfect for a light, summer lunch if you have a glut of tomatoes too, although it only made a small bowlful.  I am sure it could have been diluted to serve two, but then all that delicious oven roasted tomato goodness would also have been diluted, and tomatoes are so good for us.

I always like to play with my food, but this is one recipe I don't think I want to play with, and will definitely be making again, very soon. Fresh tomatoes and herbs only, and I don't think I will even consider adding onions or garlic, or any other tweaks to the seasonings.

Let me know if you try it, and if so, I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Until next time
Deborah



p.s. I have to say my Ninja food processor is one of the best gadgets I have ever bought, and I have owned mine now for two years and I think I have used it nearly every day since I got it home. It wasn't cheap, but oh, my! how it has proved it's value in the food preparation in my kitchen.

Let's Give This A Go?

Hello Friends!

Let's give this a go with pictures and text today and see how it goes.

Thank you for all your comments and support. Things are still not right on my end, but are better than they were. My Reading List is empty, and I know that there should be many! My page looks different too, so I was this all something to do with a really big Windows 10 update I had? Some of you had all my blogs publish in one go, going way back, while others got no notifications at all, and some of you wonder what I'm going on about because you haven't seen any of it! My page views plummeted to fewer than five per day! They are back up now, to normal, thankfully.  I won't list more, but you get the drift, all is still not right with my blog.

So, let's just keep this simple today, and see how things go?  It's a beautiful Autumn day here in the Shire, the sky is blue, cotton puffs of cloud drift on by, so lazily that they are almost at a standstill, the wind is barely moving, and I feel as lazy as the day. I can't do much, I'm waiting the arrival of a new appliance, so am tied and limited as to what I can do today.

I made an old favourite for my lunch, something I haven't made in a long, long while. My Vegetarian Meatless Balls in a sweet barbecue sauce on rice. So easy, and to get back into the swing of things I'll share it with you.

I made up a packet of soya based vegetarian sausage mix, according to the directions, but you can use any recipe you have for meatless balls.  You can even use real meat if you must!

I rolled them into small rounds, and dusted in lightly seasoned flour before searing them to give a crispy crust in some hot oil.

Meanwhile, I warmed some barbecue sauce and an equal quantity of apricot jam in a pan.

Pop the meatless balls in an oven proof dish, pour over the sauce, and put in a medium oven, Gas Mark 6 or equivalent, for about 25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the balls are cooked.

Serve over plain boiled rice and with some vegetables of choice, if desired.  This recipe also goes well in Submarine style rolls, and the sauce is good with a lot of other dishes too ~~~

Pudding was a bowl of sun ripened, freshly picked juicy blackberries, from the stone hedge at the back of the cottage.

Well, my friends, so far so good. All have uploaded and fingers crossed this will publish!

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo

Butter Bean and Avocado Tacos

Hello Friends ~~~

I've been looking for something a little different to give my taste buds a lift lately and this is one of the recipes I've come up with. It's still a work in progress, but then I do love to play with my food!

As a vegetarian I'm always looking for different ways to cook with pulses, beans and grains which I love, and which form a staple part of my diet. So, yesterday, I went on one of my Fridge Raid meals and tonight I made a tweaked version of last night's Fridge Raid. I'm calling it Butter Bean and Avocado Tacos.  This is a cold filling.  Here's what you'll need ~~~

For two servings:
1 can Butter Beans, drained
1 ripe avocado, peeled
50 grams of cheese {Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or any hardish cheese of your choice ~ I used Harlech, a lovely cheese flavoured with horseradish, from my local deli} grated.
4 spring onions {salad onions, scallions} thinly sliced
A generous pinch {to taste} of chilli powder {optional}
A generous pinch {to taste} of smoked paprika {optional}
A pinch of sumac {to taste and optional, but I like the slightly sour taste}
A squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or some of the pickling juice from a jar of Pepperdew or similar
Olive oil
Spring of mint, chiffonade
Pinch of Chipotle flakes, for presentation, optional
Taco shells, or soft tortillas to serve

Here's what I did next:

In a large bowl, using a potato masher or a fork {which gives you control over the texture} mash together the avocado, butter beans, cheese, spring onions, mint and seasonings. When all mashed and blended, but still with some texture, slacken it off with a squeeze of lime {or lemon} juice and some Extra Virgin olive oil. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Heat your taco shells or tortillas according to the packet directions and fill with your butter bean mixture. Sprinkle over the Chipotle flakes if using. Serve immediately and enjoy ~~~

Bon Appétit ~~~
Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo

Sunday School and Onions

Gentle Reader ~~~

I am sitting in my living room, overlooking the garden, sipping a mug of warming, *spice infused almond milk, and watching the small, delicate garden birds feed from the few remaining apples that still, miraculously, cling to the trees ~~~ As ever, I am praying for snow, but all we have is rain, and now there is hail. Please, may I have a cross between the two? That would be snow, wouldn't it?

WINDY NIGHTS

BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Whenever the moon and stars are set,

      Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet,

      A man goes riding by.

Late in the night when the fires are out,

Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,

      And ships are tossed at sea,

By, on the highway, low and loud,

      By at the gallop goes he.

By at the gallop he goes, and then

By he comes back at the gallop again.

I wonder if, in the dead of night, a man on horseback goes riding by in the storms that pelt over us as the wind howls down the chimney making such noise that we would never hear if one did ~~~ don't you think this is quite a scary poem for children? It comes from one of those most loved books of childhood ~~~ "A Child's Garden of Verses" which most of us probably read as children ~~~

How the weather has changed, so suddenly, about ten days ago. While we previously enjoyed one of the mildest Octobers, and November began in similar vein, we are now paying the price for deliciously crisp Autumn days by enduring gale after gale after gale.

We now name our late Autumn and Winter gales and storms alphabetically, in similar nature to the hurricane system.  Oh, I do think someone in the Met Office has a dry sense of humour, for our first big blow was aptly named Abigail, which I may have mentioned I re~spelled ABigGale. After ABigGale blustered past with winds of 70 mph, we were welcoming the remnants of hurricane Kate, who was quickly followed by Barney {barney is UK slang for a fight} and last night we were battered by yet more high winds, this time from the North and bringing colder temperatures too.  so, the last ten days has been one wind storm after another. We now have a welcome break until Tuesday evening when the winds pick up again. Until then, they will be a comparatively calm 15 mph average.

I hope the garden is secure. It is as secure as I can make it, unless I have overlooked something.  It is definitely indoor weather now.

~~~~~

Do you recall that last year, one of my last gardening jobs was to plant some onions and garlic? I have never planted them so late before and wanted to see what would happen. Well, I was not impressed. I tended them well, but nothing happened. When harvesting time came, there was nothing to harvest, and the garlic was puny and not worth taking photographs. I was very disappointed.  Then, my circumstances meant I could not garden this summer and, with grace, I had to give in and accept that I could not garden and let the weeds take over.  The onions were forgotten, that is until two days ago when I was taking compost to the bin and noticed some familiar, bright green shoots sticking above the weeds as they die back. Investigation revealed that the onions that were lost are found! All are now growing!  I will leave them in peace now, until next Spring and see what happens. There may be onions yet.

As to the garlic, the cloves are many but dreadfully tiny, almost too tiny to peel, so last night I was roasting up a big pan of root vegetables and just threw in several of the miniature cloves to let them at least add some flavour. Wow! After forty minutes roasting with the veggies, the tiny cloves were perfectly cooked to the softest, sweetest, nuttiest, fragrant garlic flavoured purée I have ever tasted.  I will be roasting them up later and freezing the delicious purée for use over the Winter.

~~~~~

Recently, on a clearing trip to the attic, I found the following. Some of you may have seen these before, but I don't think I've shared them on here.   They are sheets of perforated tickets that were given to children to mark their attendance at Sunday School.  I have been trying to date them, and to find out more about them, but am not having much luck. I guess I must try to refine my search words some more.  So far, these ones seem to date from the early 1900's but were in use up until around the 1930's. I have no idea how they came to be in my attic, other than my strong family connections with the Cathedral, and the possibility of one of my forebears teaching Sunday School ~~~

This is the building where I attended Sunday School, and where these tickets would have been given to the children of the early twentieth centure too ~~~ I was a rebellious child and was expelled from Sunday School twice for being a "disruptive force" which I prefer to think of as being a

~~~ a Free Spirited, Independent Child ~~~ 

Until next time ~~~

Sincerely yours
Deborah xo

*to make a mug of spice infused milk, gently simmer 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and two cardamom pods in 8 fl. oz of milk of your choice for five minutes. Strain into a cup or mug. I used almond 'milk' today, but coconut milk is sublime, and regular cow's milk works if you like it. I don't drink cow's milk.  You can adjust the spices to include personal favourites too. Sometimes, I add a spoon of cocoa powder.  It is warming and comforting when the weather outside is less than pretty.

Simple Summer Supper Dish ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ although I have not had any vegetables from The Garden this Summer, I am blessed that there is a small, seasonal fresh vegetable stand just a few moments walk away from my Cottage.  I can buy in season, fresh picked, home grown vegetables that are the next best thing to my own produce, so I can still have that 'Plot to Plate' experience.

A few days ago, on the Country Living {UK} Facebook page, I found a recipe for a simple Courgette and Tomato Bake. Two evenings ago I made it and it was quick, easy, and delicious.

Last night, I made an adapted version to accommodate what vegetables I had on hand.  It is so delicious I just had to share it with you.  Serves 1, so adjust accordingly.

In a heavy saucepan, warm a tablespoon of olive oil {or cooking oil of your choice} and slowly soften for 10~15 minutes without colouring:
1 thinly sliced small onion,
2" piece of leek,
1/4 green pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 small aubergine, 1 cm dice
1/2 courgette {zucchini} 1 cm dice
8 pods of Broad beans, podded
salt and pepper to taste

Add 1 crushed clove garlic and cook for a further minute.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into an oven proof dish with a tight fitting lid. I used a tagine. The lid isn't tight on a tagine, but the design means the juices do not evaporate. I think it is better than a tight fitting lid!
Arrange two large, sliced tomatoes over the top of the mixture, sprinkle lightly with Golden Caster sugar {optional, but tomatoes benefit greatly during cooking from the addition of a small amount of sugar} and bake at Gas Mark 5 for about 30 minutes, or until tomatoes are cooked and there is a lovely liquor in the base.
Remove the lid, strew with a chiffonade of fresh basil {preferably from the pot you have on the kitchen windowsill!} Sprinkle on 30 gr of grated cheese {I used vegetarian Parmesan~style cheese}  Return to oven for 10~15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden.

Serve immediately, with fresh, crusty bread to soak up all the delicious liquor.   Eat a plate of this and you've had all of your five~a~day and a bit more on one sitting ~~~

Bon Appétit !

Part cooked and Layered Vegetables in Tagine base ready for the oven

The Tagine ready for the oven

Almost finished! Strewn with basil and sprinkled with cheese ready for finishing

Finished dish ~~~ cool slightly before serving with crusty bread to mop up the liquor

Of course, you can add other vegetables that you have to hand. Shelled fresh peas, or sliced green beans, French beans, sweetcorn niblets, baby beetroot, even a handful of baby spinach; right at the end of cooking ~~~ I love these sorts of recipes you can adjust to whatever is on hand, don't you?

Until next time~~~
Sincerely yours
Deborah




FOOTNOTE
A couple of people have asked me for my recipe for Courgette {Zucchini} Chutney.  Here it is. I hope you enjoy eating it as much as I do!

Ingredients
6lbs courgettes/zucchini
2 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 lb tomatoes, peeled and chopped {I have used the equivalent of chopped canned tomatoes, well drained, in an emergency}
1 lb onions, chopped
2 lb sultanas
grated rind of 4 large orange
4 lb sugar
1 pint malt vinegar
1/2 oz ground cinnamon

Method
1. Chop courgettes/zucchini into rings and sprinkle with salt. Stand in a colander over a bowl, or in the sink, to allow the juice to drain off. Rinse well and dry.
2. Put all ingredients in a preserving pan and simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened. Chutney is ready to be bottled when a wooden spoon drawn across the surface to make a channel does not fill up with vinegar.
3. Pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal immediately.

Store for at least 1 month before eating. This is delicious with cheeses, game, and turkey. It makes a great addition to any gift hamper, and I often find the empty jars returned to me in the hopes of a refill!

Five Minute Butter Bean Salad Recipe

Gentle Reader ~~~ I was stuck with a Fridge Raid supper tonight, and came up with this little gem of a recipe using a can of butter beans from my store cupboard, a few bits and bobs from the salad bin, and seasonings that I always have on hand, so here it is, Five Minute Butter Bean Salad with a Hemp Oil and Minted Lemon dressing ~~~

Ingredients {approx two servings}
1 can Butter Beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 large red pepper {diced small}
4 spring onions {scallions, salad onions} cleaned and snipped into small pieces
1/2 a ripe avocado {diced small}
2 teaspoons Hemp oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
Chiffonade of 4 or 5 mint leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the vegetables; rinse and drain the beans. Put everything in a mixing bowl and drizzle with Hemp oil and lemon juice. Toss gently to coat and dress the ingredients. Sprinkle with the mint. Check seasoning and adjust to taste. Chill for half an hour before serving.

This was so simple, nutritious, and very tasty. Of course, you can switch things around ~ chives or red onion instead of the spring onions, olive oil instead of Hemp, basil instead of mint.  I think I will add some tomatoes to the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch!

Buon Appetit!

A Kiss of Frost

Gentle Reader ~~~ the sun is shining brightly in a clear, blue Winter sky and the storms have moved on ~~~

Thank you to everyone who took time to reply to my recent question.  You have given me much food for thought, and some of the replies have surprised me in that the font is easy to read on small devices.  I am not going to reply individually {as I usually do} but I have read everything you have said and am now sifting through the pros and cons.  I think the search will be on for something that is  more easily read ~~~sighs and moves over, once more, to the drawing board~~~ but in the meantime, for the next few entries, I am reverting to something more simple ~~~ and it is now more like my own handwriting ~~~ oh, don't you just love an indecisive Libran?

For three days, a Winter storm raged over our heads, with gusting winds of up to 80 mph.  We did not have snow.  Instead, we had rain, rain, and more rain, with some hailstones thrown in for good measure.  The chimney rattled and shook, the rafters in the roof rafted, ~~~ and my rosemary plant of twenty years was rent in two.

We learned a new word.  Thundersnow.  This is the new buzz word I'm hearing or reading it everywhere, or so it seems. We did not have thundersnow, we just had a lot of thunder and lightening with plenty of rain. No snow.  I would love to see thundersnow, for I know it would give an interesting light for photographs.  I see such beauty and possibility in even the most adverse weather conditions, as long as everyone stays safe and free from harm.

We did have some frost! Not very much, but here are a few quick snaps for you ~~~ this first one fascinates me with all the puddly bits underneath the grass ~~~

This one is just frosty kisses on a delicate moss {the current scourge of my lawn} ~~~

After Hallowe'en, I put my pumpkins {the ones that didn't get eaten} in the garden for birds to peck, and this is what it looks like with a dusting of frost ~~~ I see so much in this and I'm itchin' and twitchin' to do some print making from this ~~~

I do not dead head until the Spring, leaving berries and seeds for the birds to forage naturally, as well as supplementing their food from the feeders. It is important for them to forage too ~~~

Tiny speckles of glistening frost on what I think might be a daisy plant ~~~

One of my favourites ~~~ rosy red and orange rose~hips with a backdrop of a frosty pumpkin ~~~

It is time for filling comfort food, and one of my favourite dishes to make in the depths of Winter is my Broccoli and Cheese Casserole.  It is very simple, and quick too, deliciously tasty, and warmly filling ~~~ here is the recipe ~~~

Ingredients ~
10 oz frozen {do not use fresh} broccoli
1 tablespoon flour
1 egg
3/4 cup cottage cheese
2 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon grainy mustard {optional}
salt and pepper to taste
1 oz butter

Method ~
Blanch the frozen broccoli in boiling water for two minutes. Remove and plunge into cold water to prevent any further cooking.  Drain well and set to one side.
Pre~heat your oven to Gas Mark 5 {375F or 190C}
Place the butter in an oven proof casserole dish and put in the oven to melt.
In a bowl, beat the egg and stir in the flour and mustard, salt and pepper if using, adding both the cheeses.  Stir in the cooled, drained broccoli.
Tip the mixture into the melted butter in the hot casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is hot through and the cheeses are bubbling and golden brown.

Serves two with hot with crusty bread as a vegetarian main dish or four as a side dish. It is also very good cold, and reheats well.

I have also been using up the Christmas left overs and made some delicious marzipan mincemeat palmiers and will share those with you next time!  In the meantime, remember, despite the Wutheringly Wild Winter Weather ~~~

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~

Cranberry Relish

Gentle Reader ~ Will you accept my sincere apology? I showed you a picture of my bowl of perfect porridge topped with that oh! so delicious ~ my go to recipe ~ of fresh Cranberry Relish ~ and I didn't share the recipe ~~~ my head hangs in shame ~~~

So, I shall put that right immediately!

I think the reason I overlooked this was I shared it on my companion page over on Facebook and promptly forgot to share it here ~~~ no excuses though, and I am very sorry ~~~ It is so very easy and really tasty and I'm sure it is quite good for you too if you reduce the sugar, or don't think about it too much, but we all need a little sugar in our day sometimes ~~~ 

Here is the recipe ~~~

Ingredients

2 cups of fresh cranberries
3/4 cup ***brown sugar {I reduce this to 1/2 cup sometimes, depending on how I will use the relish}
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 grated orange peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice {or use port for special occasions}
1 grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each of allspice and ground cloves {again, I often double up on the spices just because I love them so much}
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts {optional}

Method

In a food processor bowl {do not use a blender} process all the ingredients except the nuts, until the berries are roughly chopped.  Stir in the nuts, if using.  Pour into a clean glass jar {food safe polythene is fine} and store in the refrigerator.

***I use a very dark brown molasses sugar from Traidcraft, but any brown sugar is good.

This keeps for a good two weeks and improves with keeping.  It also freezes well.  I don't keep it just for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Right now, I have several boxes made up in the freezer to keep me supplied through much of the Winter as I use it often for a topping for my porridge {oatmeal}

I also mix it in with home made, or shop bought, mincemeat and use it in mince pies and mince meat cookies or tray~bakes ~ they are just so good, especially if you use pastry for the bottom of the pie and marzipan for the lids!  You just have to use your imagination and experiment and you will see how versatile this little jar of yumminess can be!

If you want to give as gifts, use pretty jars that are  sterilized and add some pretty ribbons for presentation.   The porridge, by the way, looks so dark because the sugary juices from the Relish have melted over ~~~ yum yum happy tum!

I know we all have our own favourite porridge recipes too, and mine is to make the porridge using half a cup of oats to a cup of almond milk, adding more almond milk as needed to get the consistency I like best.

Food fit to keep a hungry gardener going all morning from breakfast until lunch ~~~ because ~~~

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~